Rise of Daein
by Delriech
Summary: A viewpoint of the story from the other side. What was Mad King Ashnard thinking when he waged the war and how was it planned and executed?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Ashnard cast his gaze around the throne room at his most influential generals, The Four Riders of Daein. Over the years they had changed as more powerful members had arisen to take their places. Now the king believed he had assembled the most powerful warriors to be his four. Bryce the loyal but powerful fool that would serve Daein to his dying day, Petrine a self-serving general that had proven her worth by keeping her soldiers in continual fear and awe of her, and finally the Black Knight a very mysterious warrior who had proven himself undefeatable on the battle field and held his loyalty rigidly to Ashnard. A forth was yet to be found but the king had a foreign soldier lined up for the position already. Renning, currently the leader of the Crimean Royal Knights was a fierce leader and would be perfect for the fourth.

Ashnard turned to his most loyal generals with a manic smile on his face and casted his cloak over his shoulder as he thrust his finger out at each of them, the appendage moving in a slow arc from one to another. **"The time has come for the Laguz loving Crimea to fall. The troops are prepared and i have little patience to wait any longer."** His eyes glittered maliciously as he held his open hand toward the door, **"Go now and don't return without victory!"**

All three turned to go but he called out to Bryce. **"You may remain here and keep the capital under guard. I know retaliation will occur and i will not take lightly to any failure on your part."**

Letting his cloak billow around him he strode through the door and past the guards posted there, not giving them a first glance let alone a second. They were a means to an end and thats the only reason he tolerated their existence. His armor glinted darkly in the light of lit torches along the passage. Pulling a large brass key from a pouch at his side he unlocked a large iron-bound door. Pulling it open with his imense strength he casted it to the side, the hinges screeched as it flew back. Stepping inside he gripped it once more and pulled it shut with a resounding thud. Grabbing a flickering torch from the wall he strode down into the depths of this monsterous room. At the bottom he lit another lam and placed his across from it in a bracket on the wall. The corner of his mouth pulled up in a sneer as he beheld Ena sleeping against the side of her precious Rajaion. Once a proud prince of Goldoa the elixer of the feral ones held him in his enormous dragon form.

**"My dear Ena why do you insist on sleeping here? Yes he makes a fine mount but nothing more."** He chuckled deep in his throat

**"But no...you wish for me to return him to his true form. You want your precious Rajaion to be free of this slavery. Well then obey all of my commands and after i obtain my true goal you may have the wretch back."** He spared a glance for the pitiful Laguz as it roared a challenge at him.

**"Deny me all you want **_**beast**_** but i am your master now and forever unless she listens. Oh how easy it was to lure you here once i had your dearest sister Almehda in my bed. She served her purposes well."** He laughed loudly as the creature strained against its bindings. Almehda was long gone but Rajaion was more useful now anyway.

The assault on Crimea would happen soon and Ashnard wanted to make sure the execution of its king, his own sword would do the blood of Crimea's peace loving king would spill at his feet and the war would blossom from his execution. The nation of Gallia was the closest a laguz nation had come to aligning with beorc in centuries. This would hopefully draw them out to be slain by his mighty army as well....

_**A/N: Prologue to my first installment in the Fire Emblem stories. Hope you like it!**_


	2. Taking of the Towns

**Chapter 1**

**Taking of the Towns**

Petrine cast her gaze left and right at the carnage taking place in this small town. Her eyes glittered with an evil glee as she thrust her lance into the back of a fleeing man, lifting the lance she sent him flying across the town to crash into the ground and send up a great cloud of dust. Once it had cleared she smiled at the pool of blood spreading out across the dirt. Grabbing a nearby soldier by the shoulder she shouted over the din of battle,

"**Grab the nearest horse and return to the king! Tell him that the front lines are taken with no resistance!"** Tossing the man from her she spurred her horse forward and swept the lance on the left and right of her horse, flames licking out from it and catching the villagers on fire as they ran of, flesh melting off their bones as they fell to the ground screaming in agony.

_**While the scout...**_

Veridyn sheathed his sword as the general moved from him, the familiar sound of steel scraping leather as music to his ears. He turned and searched the destruction for the horse she had ordered him to retrieve. Through the smoke and flame he saw a bay whinnying as it tried to jerk its reigns free of a burning fence. Running over he caught the reigns of the horse and pulled its head down to him.

"**Calm yourself I will get you away from this just be calm..." **As he spoke his hand gently stroked the side of the horse's snout. Once the horse was calm he flung himself up, his body flying gracefully through the air before he landed gently on the saddle. Yanking the reigns he turned the horse towards the broken eastern gate of the town and sped off through the chaos, soldier and peasant alike leaping to avoid being trampled.

The road returning to the king's camp was pounded smooth by the resent passing of Daein's great army. The horse's hooves easily fell along it as he galloped back the way he had arrived from. The landscape passed by quickly and the wind tore at Veridyn's smoke gray hair as his helmet ripped off his head and clattered to the earth behind him. He shook his head and bent over the horse's neck. The animal was beautiful but he would prefer to travel quickly by foot and feel the earth passing beneath him. The brand on his shoulder throbbed as his laguz parentage caused him to feel this.

It would not due to show up at the camp by foot though. The soldier's would become suspicious and he would have to move again. As of yet no one had noticed how slowly he had aged and hopefully would not for a while yet.

Seeing the camp drawing close and the sun dipping below the horizon. War fueled his energy and the destruction of Crimeans pleased him. He would show no mercy to those who had shunned him. He dealt with the country of Daein only because they hated the laguz nearly as much as he did. His history was complicated but he could manage with those that felt as he did.

_**A/N: Introducing a new character who will be crucial to the story and will provide a third viewpoint that will be unexpected...**_


End file.
